Disaster preparedness and
earthquake hazard mitigation are a priority in the City of Berkeley, a
city which sits astride of one of California's major earthquake faults. In
the last six years, the East Bay region along beautiful San Francisco Bay
where Berkeley is located has experienced significant natural disasters
involving both earthquakes and major wildfires. As a result, Berkeley
residents have chosen to make disaster preparedness a community-wide
endeavor. The local electorate has approved over $200 million in bond
measures to finance the seismic upgrade of essential public buildings such
as schools, fire stations, and emergency police services. Over 20 public
buildings in Berkeley are slated for seismic improvements in the next
eight years. This is a most progressive seismic hazard abatement program,
and it is critical that Berkeley makes prudent and cost-effective
decisions about its mitigation strategies. This is not easy because with
each major natural disaster, governments learn more about prevention,
response and the application of new technology that saves lives, lessens
property damage and speeds economic recovery.

In response to this need,
the City has convened a panel of internationally acclaimed seismic safety
experts associated with the University of California at Berkeley to advise
the City Council and the City Manager on the development of a
comprehensive seismic safety program. The Seismic Technical Advisory Group
will assist the city by reviewing structural evaluations of city-owned
buildings; preparing seismic analyses of public hazard mitigation
projects; accomplishing peer reviews of mitigation proposals; and
outlining an appropriate program for the rehabilitation of private
building stock. Further, the group will develop seismic hazard mitigation
strategies to ensure the most safe and cost-effective methods are
undertaken. The group will examine the necessities for retrofit versus new
construction, as well as review the spectrum of innovative approaches to
hazard mitigation using the most advanced technological knowledge
available in the world.

Working with a group like
the Seismic Technical Advisory Group is a bold move for local government.
The world-renowned University of California at Berkeley offers a wealth of
academic resources to the community. It is sensible for the city to rely
on the campus for the technical guidance needed in such a major capital
improvement program. Municipal officials will be better prepared to make
well-informed decisions on how best to use the city's hazard mitigation
moneys.

Calling All Beat
Cops

Trained public safety
dispatchers are always on duty to take emergency calls on 911 or on the
other 24-hour staffed non-emergency general number for the City of
Berkeley Police Department. However, as a part of the City's Community
Involved Policing Plan, the city has implemented an additional voice mail
system for police telephone lines which provides increased access between
residents and officers. Residents can now leave a routine message for
their neighborhood beat officer if no one is available to take the call.

To leave a message for a
specific officer, residents dial a central number using a touch tone
phone. The employee's mailbox number is entered, plus the officer's badge
number, using the following system:

For Officers/Employees enter

2000 + badge number + # (pound key)

For Sergeants enter

3000 + badge number + #

For Inspectors enter

4000 + badge number + #

For Lieutenants enter

5000 + badge number + #

For Captains enter

6000 + badge number + #

Residents can also obtain
current crime trend and crime prevention information by dialing another
number from a touch tone phone, listening to the instructions and then
dialing their beat number followed by the pound key. After listening to
the recorded message, residents may stay on the line and leave their own
personal message for ALL OF THE BEAT OFFICERS who work on their beat.

Residents obtain beat
numbers and badge numbers whenever they have any personal contact with
their neighborhood beat officer, either individually or at crime watch or
community meetings. If they don't have those numbers, or have lost them,
they can obtain beat numbers and individual badge numbers by dialing a
police department number set up for just that purpose.

Coordinated City Services Task Force
for Problem Properties

Complaints come in about a blighted house in the hills. Upset
neighbors worry about drugs being sold out of the house. Small children
are seen ill-clothed and unattended during the day. Garbage and abandoned
cars stand in weeds in the front yard. Complaints come in about an
apartment unit where screaming arguments startle neighbors awake at 2:00
in the morning. Used hypodermic needles are thrown into neighboring yards
and groups of young men seem to be dealing drugs in a dark passage
alongside the apartment building. The property is littered with abandoned
furniture and garbage.

These are typical cases
for the City of Berkeley's Coordinated City Services Task Force (CCSTF), a
group which meets on a regular basis and for each problem property custom
designs a multi-departmental approach to improve the specific property and
solve the problems created by it. Environmental Health and Public Works
deal with clean-up of the property, and police officers work on the drug
situation. An outside agency might be called to make sure the children are
cared for properly.

A joint effort may require
the resources of many different city services which cut across
departmental lines. These may include Police, Fire, Zoning, Codes and
Inspections, Legal, Public Works, and Environmental Health, among others.
The city has a Neighborhood Services Liaison who meets regularly with
neighborhood groups. The Liaison takes referrals from these groups to the
CCSTF for action. Once the problem property is listed with the Task Force,
it stays on their agenda until the problems are cleared. By meeting
together, all the appropriate departments can focus on the problem and
develop a coordinated approach to finding a solution. This is not only
effective, it is quicker than if the problem was passed along from
department to department.